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AA Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

RedHawks Drop Series Finale 5-1, Swept by X's

August 7, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks News Release


SIOUX CITY, IA - In a duel of the league's top two strikeout pitchers, Patrick Johnson and the Sioux City Explorers prevailed 5-1 over Brandon Mann and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks before a crowd of 1,580 fans at Lewis and Clark Park.

Brandon Mann and Patrick Johnson have been battling over the American Association's top spot in the league for strikeouts for a majority of the season. Neither starter disappointed on Friday night.

Mann led the American Association with 91 strikeouts coming into the contest and would get 12 more pelts to the belt, but the Explorers got to him in the early innings. He gave up back-to-back singles to Matty Johnson and Brent Keys to start the game. Rene Tosoni would advance them to second and third on a fielder's choice and then Mann became erratic. Both Johnson and Keys would score on wild pitches with Noah Perio and Ryan Court at the plate giving the X's a 2-0 lead.

Sioux City would add a run in both the second and third innings. In the second it was Tommy Mendonca who scored easily from third on a Keys RBI single. Mann would load the bases later in the frame but would get Brock Kjelgaard swinging getting him out of the jam. In the third Perio led off by reaching on an error from Chad Mozingo. Matt Koch would then reach on a ball that slipped under the glove of Ryan Pineda at second allowing Perio to wheel home from first giving the Explorers a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile Patrick Johnson kept the RedHawks guessing at the plate for the first five innings. Johnson, standing just 5'10", checked in at second with 89 K's coming into tonight's contest. He faced 17 batters before allowing a RedHawk to reach second when Luke Bailey doubled with two down in the top of the fifth.

The RedHawks touched Johnson in the sixth for the only run they would score in the game. Drew Muren led off the inning with a triple down the line in right followed by a Mozingo RBI single making it 5-1.

After seven innings of work and 130 pitches, Doug Simunic ended Brandon Mann's night and handed the ball to Benji Waite. Mann gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts, a season high for a RedHawks starting pitcher.

Though Mann struck out more batters than his counterpart, Patrick Johnson out-dueled him. Johnson also went seven innings, but gave up just one run on six hits with one walk and an equally impressive ten strikeouts.

Sioux City tacked on an insurance run for good measure in the home half of the eighth. With two outs, Koch singled and Tim Colwell would come on as a pinch runner. Colwell would swipe second and would score later on a Brendan Slattery RBI single as the Explorers went on to win 5-1.

With the loss Fargo-Moorhead is swept in back-to-back series and drops to 23-47 while losing their seventh straight game. Sioux City improves to 52-18 while pushing their winning streak to nine games as they keep pace with league leading St. Paul. The six-game road trip continues on tomorrow night as the RedHawks begin a three game set with the Kansas City T-Bones at Community America Ballpark starting at 7:05 p.m.

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